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Erilyn was crying, covering his eyes with his paws. He felt the Poochyena let go of his tail, and peeked from under a paw only long enough to see another dark form crouched over him. With a frightened yell, he ducked his head and attempted to bury it with his paws, pressing his ears flat against his head. His small body was bobbing with sobbing, his mind filled with his inevitable end and the end of his trainer.

One of the Mightyenas slammed itself against Zori, knocking her off the crouched eevee enough for him to dig his claws into his side at the same moment an Abra appeared.

With a crack!, all three landed elsewhere. Erilyn was flailing violently, and the Mightyena moved in for the kill; and both veered a little bit to the side during the teleport to land in...water.



As he and his newfound friends approached the group, Crescendo spotted a familiar form.

"Anna!" He turned to give a thankful bow to Rin, and then slithered over to the Houndour's side. Morana turned at her name, and she straightened up, tail wagging when she saw who it was.

"Crescendo! Are you OK?" She asked. Beside him Chase sat, watching the exchange curiously. The three looked up when Solaris yelled for everyone to run. Morana's ear flicked as she heard the scream, and turned to watch the approaching forest-!

She turned to run, but trees sprouted up all around her, a root tripping her to the ground. Beside her Crescendo cried out in alarm but Chase held his footing. As soon as things settled, he grabbed Morana and helped her to his feet.

Just in time too. The three turned back to view the scene, eyes wide. There was a hoard of black poochyenas, a dead Mightyena, one alive...one very far off in the distance. Their eyes shone a demonic red.

Most of the Poochyena's attention were turned away from them, towards the Mightyena in the distance. They had their sights on a particular Shiny Eevee, and all of them ran in that direction, except for a few who stayed to protect the remains of their meal. Chase's eyes opened wide when he recognized the form as human.

The Mightyena left was facing Zori's group, but his head snapped to the side to take in the new group. With a snarl he leaped at them at frightening speeds- and smacked right into a shimmering barrier.

Crescendo had wrapped his tail in a semi-circle around Morana and Chase, shaking with fear as he kept his barrier up. The Mightyena snarled and, attacking the barrier with abandon as it began to weaken, showed no signs of letting up.

Morana crouched, an image flashing in her mind of the barrier shattering and Crescendo reeling back from the force. She understood it to be her Future Sight and acted upon it, leaping forward just as the barrier broke as she saw.

Crescendo fell away and Morana nipped at the Mightyena's face. She didn't get a good grip and the other Dark type snapped his head up against Morana's chin. She landed on his back and slipped off, scrambling back to her feet, electricity crackling in her fur.

The Mightyena ignored her and continued forward, pouncing at Chase. The Vulpix scrambled to leap away, but the bigger pokemon pinned him down to the ground by his tail. Chase hit the ground from the downward force, and he suddenly burst into flames as an attempt to shake off his attacker. The Mightyena kept him pinned, ignoring the fire that burned his paw.

The Dark Type reeled though, as a large tail slammed into its face.

"Milotic!" Crescendo cried, diving over Chase at the Mightyena in a headbutt. He drove it to the ground, wrapping his body tightly around it as it viciously bit and tore at him until the Milotic began to bleed from several minor wounds. He bent down to slam the side of his head against the Mightyena the same time Morana opened her mouth and shot a light blue beam of light at it.

Crescendo uncurled himself from the Mightyena, letting it fall to the ground, encased in ice. The Milotic looked up at Morana who only offered a shrug in reply -She knew Ice Beam?- and then curled up into a coil, his wounds starting to mend.



Pluto watched the battle from a distance, frowning. This was probably the same kind of situation as Solaris's vision, though by the wounds sustained by some of the battlers, this seemed much more solid, much more real.

He grunted as he was suddenly shoved out of the way, a Dark Ghostly form where he stood moments ago. Thanatos grunted as the Shadowball hit him, the super-effective move seeming to take somewhat of a toll of the Ghost Type. The Gengar's eyes narrowed, and suddenly he shot down into the ground.

A moment later, dark tendrils of ghostly energy came up and out of the ground, wrapping around the demonic Poochyena. More and more tendrils came up, and the Poochyena snarled, roared, growled, did everything it could to fight it. When Thanatos once again reformed, the Poochyena laid dead on the ground and the Gengar floated back to Pluto's side.

"Are you OK?" He asked. The Leafeon nodded, tiredly pulling himself to his feet. He was too old for this. They had to end this. The first thing to do is to find the one dreaming.

"Keep your guard up next time." Thanatos told him, and Pluto looked up to stare at his protector. Was that a hint of...discontentment in his voice? The Gengar had never talked to Pluto like that before, and the words didn't fit. Thanatos always saw it as his duty to protect Pluto, and rarely expected anything from the Leafeon himself in that regard. Maybe it was just this situation that was putting the Ghost at edge.

((-1 Mightyena, -1 Poochyena.

A good chunk of the Poochyenas are now running at where Erilyn resulted from the teleport. Erilyn and a Mightyena is now in Celsus's Fishtank.))

((Richard, iPod or not, at least skim people's posts? I am ignoring the majority of yours, as Zero is no longer there and the remaining Mightyena is fighting Cat's characters.))



Erilyn thrashed desperately in the water, the Mightyena's claws digging deep and painfully into his side as the larger Pokemon tried to kill him. He gasped when his head finally broke the surface of the water, but the Mightyena pushed him back down forcibly.

The eevee yelped, losing what breath he had managed to hold when he felt teeth bite into the scruff of his neck, lifting him out of the water. The Mightyena, half-trapped by the Fishtank could not follow, and as Erilyn was dragged away the Mightyena's claws finally exited his flesh, trailing blood.

Erilyn was panic-stricken, blinded by pain, clawing and kicking at the air as whatever had him carried him off. He was crying, squirming, and fighting to get free when he was set on the ground. He stiffened when whatever had him began to gently lick his ear, and he looked up at the voice.

It was a Leafeon.

His sobbing redoubled in volume, this time in relief, as he suddenly turned and curled up against Zori, pressing himself against her as if desperate to hide from the world with her as his shield. Which he probably was. He shut his eyes tighter when he heard the screaming as if he could shut out the world, curling up tighter, hiding his head under his large dripping and soaked tail, barely hearing the Leafeon's words.

((The Monsters have weakened! Poochyenas now only take 1 Pokemon to defeat and Mightyenas take 2.))



Morana, Crescendo, and Chase rushed forward to the others. Crescendo stopped when he reached Zori, circling her and erecting a barrier; the Leafeon was taking care of a young eevee, and wasn't in a position to fight very well. Morana and Chase charged past. Chase stopped beside a Poochyena -this one was not black and didn't have glowing red eyes thank gods- who seemed hesitant to attack while Morana charged right forward, leaping at the Mightyena.

The larger Dark Type snapped its maw at her, and she accepted the grazing hit in her shoulder as she slammed into the creature's head. Electricity exploded from her body, coursing into the Mightyena's. As Morana was thrown aside by the larger canine's thrashing, she clawed at its leg, and both of them tumbled to the ground.

Chase opened his mouth and spewed forth a stream of flames at the Mightyena and Morana. The Houndour staggered to her feet, her fur absorbing the fire harmlessly, as the Mightyena burned and howled. She moved to, but could not finish it off before a Poochyena slammed into her, hard. She leaped at it, tackling it to the ground, and the two grappled furiously, violently, with Morana until she finally got her mouth around its throat and bit down with fire leaking through her teeth.

The main body of the Poochyenas had changed their course from the Fishtank towards the barrier where they knew Erilyn to be. The Eevee was terrified of them coming after him, so naturally they'd come after him in his nightmare vision. The few Poochyenas guarding the human's body abandoned their post to join them.

Crescendo moved circles around Zori and the eevee in a tight circle, bending down once to nudge the eevee's tail with his nose, crying out a low, gentle note. The Milotic winced as one, then another Poochyena slammed themselves against his barrier, until all four were there, most of them seeming intent on getting to the Eevee within. Crescendo rose up, and slammed his head down on a Poochyena, opening up the barrier to allow the attack to hit. The dark type flew away with a yelp and Cress turned to blow a powerful stream of water at another, knocking it back. He quickly retreated back under his barrier as the Poochyenas recovered and the other fighters (Presumably) came to take care of them.

Erilyn's crying had come down to a low whimpering, and he raised his head slightly, allowing himself to peek through to the battle around him. His eyes widened at the sight of the Guildmembers bravely fighting off the Poochyenas. There were only a few left! They can drive the dark types away! He grasped onto Zori's every word, allowing himself to hope.

The eevee yelped and winced as a small form was slammed against the barrier, and then slowly slid down it to rest at its feet.

Morana gasped as the breath was knocked out of her, and she struggled to get back onto her feet as the Mightyena, half-charred, advanced on her. There was a nasty gash down her side, going along a bone ridge on her back, blood matting the fur. Behind the Mightyena Chase was running as fast as he could towards the scene, but a poochyena tackling him from the side ended his charge as the two tumbled to the ground, claws and fangs dug deep into each others flesh.

Morana whimpered as she staggered to her feet, her legs shaking with exhaustion and weakness from her wounds. Before her was a suddenly flash of colour, black and pink, and with a yelp she tumbled back to the ground, lying against the barrier.

To Erilyn, he watched Morana with eyes wide, for he saw not the young Houndour, but another Pokemon from his memories. From Morana burst forth the image of another Houndour, first see-through and ghostly but quickly solidifying. This houndour latched herself onto the surprised Mightyena's face, raking and biting relentlessly.

A bolt of lightning came down from the sky, striking the Mightyena dead-on just as the Houndour leaped off and out of danger. With a painful howl, the Mightyena went down, and the Houndour quickly finished it off. A yellow and blue blur flashed past, knocking the Poochyena off of Chase. The two new arrivals charged in at the barrier, and the Poochyenas yelped, fleeing in fear.



When everything suddenly cleared, there stood the Houndour and a Manectric. Though they had just attacked and killed several of the enemies, their maw and paws were free of blood, and they seemed to give off light in the dreary darkness of the nightmare. And in fact, the area seemed to come to life slightly, the grass a little less withered, the trees a bit softer in their posture, the sun just a little less bleak...

The Houndour stepped forward towards Zori, walking through Crescendo's barrier as if it didn't exist, to the Milotic's alarm.

"...Mommy? Daddy?" Erilyn whispered, raising his head and staring up at the Houndour, eyes full of love and respect. That's right, Shard and Valkist had saved him that day.

...that day? It's already happened...?

The Houndour bent down and touched her nose to the shiny eevee's, closing her eyes and nuzzling him affectionately.

"Zero, let it go..." Shard whispered, as Valkist padded over to her side, deftly jumping over Crescendo's bulk. "Remember son? You promised that you wouldn't let the past rule you..."

The eevee's mind reeled as memories -more than fifteen year's worth- rushed into his mind. Joining the Houndour pack, meeting Zosee, adventuring, evolving...he took his new name to leave this all behind...



Suddenly, the image of the Houndour and the Manectric melted away, as if they were made of smoke in a strong wind. Above them the gloom of the sky dispersed, the Sun flaring to life and burning away the darkness. And the small Shiny Eevee Zori was holding close was suddenly much bigger, and no longer an Eevee. The Glaceon took a step back from Zori, a little too big for the cuddled position now, and looked around to view everyone around him.

"Ah, thank you...Zori. And everyone." He murmured gratefully, dipping his head. He was unsure of what had happened, but he knew that this wasn't a regular nightmare, and the guildmembers had saved him.

Morana limped up to him, helped by Chase, eyes wide.

"Z-Zero? That was you all along?" She whispered, and then turned to stare at where her parents had materialized. So that was her mother before evolution huh...?

Zero nodded, bent down and nuzzled Morana as Crescendo slithered over to her side and rested his head against hers, glowing slightly. Her wounds began to mend.

"Tell me what's going on-" Zero's words were cut off as the scenery began to change once again around them.

When they arrived at the house, Pluto immediately fell into a violent coughing fit before anyone had even spotted the fire. He could smell the smoke, being much more sensitive to it than anyone else. Thanatos examined the building around him, rushing up through the ceiling before immediately coming back down, his face grim, moments before Rin screamed "Fire!"

The Ghost cast his gaze around at the group, spotting Crescendo curled up around a Houndour. Thanatos floated over towards him, tapping the Milotic on the shoulder and pointed back to Pluto, who's coughing wasn't stopping. Pluto was weakened by the lack of sun, and the stress of this entire situation isn't helping. Add fire to the mix...



Crescendo looked up and then to where the Gengar was pointing. Without hesitation he slithered across the dry wood floor towards the Leafeon, and circled the grass type, breathing out a thin layer of water to cover Pluto. The Leafeon's coughing subsided, and he stood there, panting hard through the water that covered him.

Zero winced at the mention of fire, and could literally feel the heat battling his inner ice. Zori's somewhere in here; she was missing, and her Teammates seemed to recognize the scream. Zori had helped him through his nightmare; there was nothing he could do to help her through hers, at least not right now.

Chase ran up to Team Stormcloud, quickly explaining: "The fire doesn't affect me or Morana. We'll go ahead now and try and find your captain."

After Morana talked with Zero for a second, she bounded up to Chase's side and the two fire-types charged up the staircase, and turned sharply right, jumping over fallen debris.

Behind them Zero joined Crescendo who constantly kept an Aqua Ring active on the frail Leafeon as Thanatos lead the way. They went down the Main hall, Zero erecting a barrier in an attempt to keep the heat away from himself. The Ghost tested the first door on their right, found it locked, and thrust his arm into the wood. Nothing happened for a moment, and then the door cracked, fell apart, and blew away as dust.

Fire roared out to greet them, the ceiling having collapsed and the burning wood from belong haven fallen down and set this room alight. Zero cried out in surprise, stumbling back, his barrier breaking. Crescendo immediately moved forward, through Thanatos, to shield both Pluto and Zero from the flames with his own body. His wet amphibious skin began to dry and crack quickly, but he turned and began to pour a constant stream of water down his side from his mouth, fighting off the fire.

Thanatos floated into the room, grimacing from the heat. He ducked down under the floor, searching...searching...there! He passed through a layer of steel to find himself in a thick pipe filled with water under high pressure.

A moment later the wall opposite Crescendo burst open with a flood of water, the pressure launching the liquid through the entire room to hit even the doorway. The room was suddenly filled with loud hissing and steam, the acrid smell of smoke becoming stronger. With a weak cough, Zero staggered to his feet and erected a barrier around them, pushing out the smoke.

The water gushing out from the pipes soon killed even the small glowing embers in the room, flooding the floor with half a foot of water. Thanatos looked up to the broken ceiling above, where falling debris was still coming down, and steered their group clear of the hole.

"Stay here." He told them, and floated up to deal with the fire above.

---

Morana crawled under a large piece of debris that had fallen from the roof of the house. She dragged herself through, helping Chase behind her. That...was a close one. The entire thing had collapsed right on them, but they were right under a small gap. Thank Arceus.

They finally squirmed their way on top of the burning debris. Neither of them were worried by the inferno raging about them, as each of their fur harmlessly absorbed the fire, powering themselves further. To the side was a room, the door having burned away already, and Chase carefully stepped into it. It was the first room they've seen so far and it was as good of a place as any to start searching.

"Zori...!?" he called out, and behind him Morana stepped up to his side. They cautiously stepped forward, examining the room. Chase flinched and took a step back as felt something sharp against his paw. Bending down, he saw twisted, half-melted shards of glass.

((One Pipe down. Morana and Chase are in the room where the fire started, and if you want Zori's mother to still be there to go insane over them, go for it.))